METRO EXCLUSIVE: Toxic Shock! What drugs deliver besides a high

Toxic chemicals used in the production of drugs are sometimes just as or more hazardous than the drugs themselves, study says.

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FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Fahy was killed during a call to a house in the Bronx on Tuesday morning – an indirect casualty of the drug epidemic. The house was a marijuana grow house with gas lines that had been tampered with, according to authorities.

When someone chooses to put an illegal drug in their system, they aren’t thinking about peripheral damage – the danger to other people and the planet – involved. They also aren’t thinking about other toxic chemicals that are entering their body with the high. DrugAbuse.com shared a report exclusively with Metro showing the other toxins to which drug users – 44 million Americans older than 12 in 2014 – are exposing themselves.

According to DrugAbuse.com and other sources, illegal drug use is on the rise. Heroin, prescription drugs and synthetic “designer” drugs, like Flakka or Spice, have taken centerstage.

Krokodil, “the world’s deadliest drug,” is made from ingredients like iodine, lighter fluid and cleaning products which cause gangrene and rotting flesh, according to DrugAbuse.com.

Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), used to clean swimming pools, is a common ingredient in amphetamines.

Cocaine contains an explosive, potassium permanganate, which is also used as a disinfectant, the study found. Toluene is an ingredient common in cocaine, paint thinner and airplane fuel. Acetone, the liquid that melts artificial nails and removes nail polish, is used in both cocaine and heroin production.